Senate Candidate Comes Out Swinging

Elizabeth Warren Cheers Partisan Gathering of Democrats, but Her Speech's Appeal to Massachusetts Voters Is Unclear

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren slammed Walls Street and harshly criticized Mitt Romney in her speech at the DNC, saying "People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here's the painful part: they're right." (Photo: Getty Images)

By

Naftali Bendavid and

Michael R. Crittenden

Updated Sept. 6, 2012 12:28 a.m. ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Elizabeth Warren delivered a hard-hitting speech Wednesday that prompted wild applause at the Democratic convention and could energize the liberal base. Now the question is how independent voters in her Massachusetts Senate race will react.

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren slammed Walls Street and harshly criticized Mitt Romney in her speech at the DNC, saying "People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here's the painful part: they're right." (Photo: Getty Images)

"The Republican vision is clear: 'I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own,' " Ms. Warren said. "Republicans say they don't believe in government. Sure they do. They believe in government to help themselves and their powerful friends."

Ms. Warren, a Harvard Law School professor, is in the middle of a testy and competitive contest with Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who has been presenting himself as the rare senator willing to work across party lines.

Some analysts said Ms. Warren's high-profile role at the convention is a gamble in a state where more than half of voters are independents.

"Democrats are resting on the assumption that Massachusetts voters are not going to be turned off by someone who aligns herself with the national party," said Peter Ubertaccio, a political scientist at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. "It's a risky assumption."

Before Ms. Warren's speech, the Boston Globe quoted Mr. Brown as saying, "The difference between Prof. Warren and me is I do have broad-based support—Democrats, independents, Republicans—and as you've seen my poll numbers go up and hers go down, there's a sense of desperation, a constant misrepresenting my position on issues, especially on women's issues."

Ms. Warren's aides dismiss the idea that there was any tension in her roles. In her talk, she mocked a comment of Mr. Romney's about corporations. "No, Gov. Romney, corporations are not people," Ms. Warren said. "People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they die."

Whatever the broader reaction, Ms. Warren's stature among the Democratic delegates gathered in Charlotte was clear. Bess Lewis, a first-time delegate from Greensboro, N.C., said Ms. Warren's race is a hot topic among attendees from around the country.

"It's the one Senate race we're all pulling for, even if we don't live in Massachusetts," Ms. Lewis said, citing Ms. Warren's stances on women's issues such as equal pay and her crusade against Wall Street banks, including the successful push for the creation of consumer watchdog over financial products.

Joe Perez, a retiree and delegate from Colorado, said electing Ms. Warren could help break Senate gridlock. "She's been a loyal supporter of the president," he said. "That's what we need in Congress."

Photos: Democratic National Convention

The Massachusetts Senate seat was held for decades by Edward Kennedy, a party icon who was featured in an emotional tribute video at the convention.

Ms. Warren rose to prominence through her work as a consumer activist, which included her push for a federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be included in the Dodd-Frank banking overhaul that passed in 2010.

Corrections & Amplifications Elizabeth Warren pushed for a federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be included in the Dodd-Frank banking overhaul. An earlier version of this article incorrectly called it the Consumer Financial Protection Board.

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